Morality Tales

No one wants their kids reading complete trash. It's pretty widely understood that what goes in comes out, and if kids consume a steady diet of books with bad morals, chances are they're going to retain those attitudes, regardless of the instruction they get at home. Wouldn't it be better to have them read books with clear messages of Christian virtue and well-behaved main characters?

Yes and no—obviously, we want good examples set for our children, and character-building stories often provide them. At the same time, they have a tendency to portray their heroes and heroines as too good, so that kids see a completely unrealistic picture of childhood which they consequently reject, if not at home, then later in life when it matters even more.

In the Bible, of course, Jesus Himself is presented as our example for leading a godly life. The difference is that these books are supposed to be representations of ordinary people, not the Son of God. To suggest that human beings (especially children!) can attain a state of near-sinless perfection is dangerously close to heresy.

That said, even stories of this kind are better than a lot of the available reading material for youngsters. If the goal is to raise children in the fear and admonition of the Lord, giving them an unattainable standard is superior to giving them one far too easily achieved, or none at all. Stories about selfish kiddos, kiddos who get their way, kiddos who are more wise than adults—these aren't the kind of stories our impressionable tykes need to read.

With that in mind, we offer this collection of morality tales, or wholesome fiction. A lot of these books are Victorian-era novels highly influenced by the moralist tones of the period, but many are also more recent ventures (and also a little more realistic). We suggest you not make a steady diet of these sorts of books (they don't typically feature the best writing), but every now and then it's not a bad idea to refresh your children's pool of good examples.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.
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Aeneid for Boys and Girls
by Alfred J. Church
from Yesterday's Classics
Roman Mythology for 5th-8th grade
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Awakening of Europe
Story of the World Series #3
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Book of Discovery
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Discovery of New Worlds
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Done and Dared in Old France
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by Deborah Alcock
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Driven into Exile
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Early Church
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Escape
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Faerie Gold
Classics for Young Readers
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from P&R Publishing
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Folklore for 4th-8th grade
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Famous Men of the Middle Ages
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First Book in American History
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Florence Nightingale
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Four American Inventors
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Growth of the British Empire
Story of the World Series #5
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Hannibal
Makers of History Series
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Heart Strangely Warmed
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Heroes Every Child Should Know
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How They Kept the Faith
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Iliad for Boys and Girls
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In the City
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In the Days of Alfred the Great
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In the Days of William the Conqueror
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In the Desert
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Precious Memories Book 1: The First 10 Years
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Precious Memories Book 2: Years 11-17
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Manual of Clay Modeling
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by Emma Leslie
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by Bertha Morris Parker
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by Hector Malot, translated by Florence Crewe Jones, illustrated by Thelma Gooch and Johnny Gruelle
from Inheritance Publications
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Prior's Tithe
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by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
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Rescue at the Eleventh Hour
by W. H. G. Kingston
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$7.00
Romulus
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by Jacob Abbott
from Yesterday's Classics
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Saints and Heroes Since the Middle Ages
by George Hodges
from Yesterday's Classics
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by George Hodges
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Sampo
by James Baldwin
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School of the Woods
by William Long
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by H. E. Marshall
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Secret Church
by Louise A. Vernon
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Secret Mission
Huguenot Inheritance Series #2
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Secret of Everyday Things
by Jean Henri Fabre
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Secrets of the Woods
by William J. Long
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St. Matthew
The Bible for School and Home #7
by J. Patterson Smyth
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Stories From Livy
by Alfred J. Church
from Yesterday's Classics
History for 6th-9th grade
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$11.95
Stories From Livy
by Alfred J. Church
from Yesterday's Classics
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$11.95
Stories from the Crusades
by Janet Harvey Kelman
from Yesterday's Classics
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$9.95
Stories From the Greek Tragedians
by Alfred J. Church
from Yesterday's Classics
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$11.95
Stories of the East from Herodotus
by Alfred J. Church
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$12.95
Story of Europe
by H. E. Marshall
from Yesterday's Classics
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Story of Mankind
by Hendrik Willem Van Loon
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1922 Newbery Medal winner
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Story of Roland
by James Baldwin
from Yesterday's Classics
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Story of Siegfried
by James Baldwin, illustrated by Peter Hurd
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Story of the Greeks
by H. A. Guerber
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$15.95
Story of the Last Days of Jerusalem
by Alfred J. Church
from Yesterday's Classics
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Story of the Persian War
by Alfred J. Church
from Yesterday's Classics
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Story of the Romans
by H. A. Guerber
from Yesterday's Classics
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Streams of History: Ancient Greece
by Ellwood W. Kemp
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Struggle for Sea Power
Story of the World Series #4
by M. B. Synge
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This Country of Ours
by H. E. Marshall
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Three Greek Children
by Alfred J. Church
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Thunderstorm in Church
by Louise Vernon
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Under Calvin's Spell
Reformation Trail Series #08
by Deborah Alcock
from Inheritance Publications
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Viking Tales
by Jennie Hall
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Huguenot Inheritance Series #10
by Deborah Alcock
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Wild Animals I Have Known
by Ernest Thompson Seton
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by Jean Henri Fabre
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